Two popular Bengaluru malls may face demolition amidst the ongoing cleanup of illegal structures built close to stormwater drains by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
Orion Mall in Rajajinagar and Gopalan Arcade in Rajarajeshwarinagar has come under the scanner for allegedly encroaching on stormwater drains. The civic body will conduct a survey before taking the next step.
According to former BBMP commissioner Siddaiah, the plans to build Orion mall hadn’t been sanctioned at all. “It is an old matter, which I cannot recall at this point. But I did not sanction any mall during my tenure as BBMP commissioner,” said Siddaiah.
However Vishal Mirchandani, CEO of Orion Mall said that the land was acquired by Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the predecessor to Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records in 1995 showed that there were no stormwater drains in the plot, said Mirchandani.
Bengaluru Mayor, B N Manjunath has ordered for fresh surveys to avoid any legal complications and BBMP to take the call based on the outcome.
“I have ordered a probe as to how the building has come up despite the direction,” the mayor said.
The probe come at a time when the Karnataka High Court ordered to BBMP to not demolish multi-story buildings built on stormwater drains without assessing the plan as per law. The court also directed officials not to take action against complexes whose plans were found to be valid.
